Disclaimer: No matter how much I despair, Yu-gi-oh, 3x3 Eyes and Inuyasha will never be mine, so let me wallow in my misery and don't sue me 'cuz I don't have a dollar to my name.
Author's Notes:
This story happens eleven years after the Kun-Lun incident with Howasho/Pa-bo. Bear in mind that I've only seen the OAV and have read only the first six manga.
Also, while I do know the overall story of Battle City, I'm setting this story up before that Arc, before Isis(Ishizu) shows up, and before the Otogi Ryuuji(Duke Devlin) incident. I haven't decided to twist all the Yu-gi-oh concepts, such as that of Yami being Pharaoh, and whatnot, but there are some other concepts I have totally dropped. The story will focus mostly on the trios of Jounouchi, Yami and Yuugi, Yakumo, Pai, and Sanjiyan, and Inuyasha, Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Malik and Isis will not appear, in the same way that Miroku, Sango, Kouga, Kikyou, Kaede, and co. and Jake MacDonald, Naparva and Run Pao Pao may be mentioned and won't appear. Unfortunately, I believe this story will really mess with the story-lines of all three series. I sincerely apologize in advance.
A Trio of Demons
Prologue
The Culture Shock was a gay bar in Shinjuku. The owner, whom the employees called Mama-san, was a friend of Yakumo's, and working there paid well, which is why he worked there. Since he passed his University cooking class, he didn't even have to deal with the customers anymore, except through their orders.
"'Wait for me in Tokyo', she said! 'I need to rest', she said! 'Pai hasn't woken up yet', she said! Are you sure she's worth it? I mean, it's been two years since you've seen her, you'd think she'd have hurried over, but no... And then, there was the time she lost her memory, right, just before she told you to wait for her. You spent four years looking for her, only to find her back here in Tokyo. After that, I was just keeping your opening in the Culture Shock on a silver platter, waiting for you to come back. Didn't expect you to stay this long, though." Yakumo was on break, and Mama-san was nagging him.
"There's got to be a good reason why she hasn't come yet." Yakumo protested.
"Yeah. Maybe she doesn't like you anymore." Mama-san snickered.
That was a long time ago. It had been nine years since that conversation had taken place, and Yakumo remembered it more and more frequently.
'Maybe she doesn't like you anymore.' And hadn't his old colleague, Steve Long told him she might not be the same Pai once she got her memory back? Despite these doubts, he'd continued traveling.
He knew where she was: the trick was getting there. The Holy land, where Pai was resting, was not reachable by normal means. It was an entirely different world, accessible only through a Kun-Lun, a dimensional breach. There were many of them all over the world, but many of the keys to the breaches had been destroyed. He had to find a key and a breach. He hadn't had any luck as of yet.
And now, he knew he had to get to Pai as soon as possible. Ling Ling, another old colleague, had warned him Benares was still working toward the resurrection of Kaiyanwang, and to accomplish this, he needed the life force of a Sanjiyan. Which meant that Pai was in danger. Every passing day brought with it the fear that Pai had already left the Holy Land and was traveling to Tokyo, where she thought Yakumo still was, and falling into the blood and death-stained hands of Benares.
It was as he was hitchhiking somewhere in China, one evening, that a black limo pulled up by the side of the road. Yakumo looked at it with a puzzled expression, not believing his luck.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Hop in!" snapped a familiar, impatient voice. Yakumo was jolted out of his stupor by the voice of the woman in the driver's seat.
"Ling Ling!" exclaimed a surprised Yakumo.
"We haven't got all day, you know..." the woman continued.
Yakumo did as she told him, and climbed in the back seat, only to find Pai asleep there.
"Pai!" he said in disbelief.
"We got to her before you did." explained Ling Ling, as they sped along the highway. "I think she intended to stay in there forever, in order to protect you while she roamed the Holy Land in search of something that might turn you and she human again. Foolish. In any case, as we told you, Benares has been unusually active these past few months, especially in Japan."
"How do you know that?" Yakumo asked.
"Meishin went back there to visit her friends from University, and there was lots of supernatural trouble from Domino city. There were lots of incidents of people suddenly succumbing to madness."
"That's not Benares' style." Yakumo remarked.
"No, but get this: Meishin found one of the victims a minutes after the strike, and manage to take a picture of this demon sniffing around." Ling Ling handed her friend a photo. "Looks a bit like an old friend of ours, doesn't it?"
"You're right. But it looks like Benares has nothing to do with this. Why is he interested in these goings on?" Yakumo asked.
"I don't know. Maybe he doesn't like unknown demons working independently from his men. The strange thing is that the attacks stopped shortly after Meishin's discovery, and we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Meanwhile, Benares sent a couple of his goons our way, looking for Pai. They made an attempt to steal the Ningen No Zho too. Damn demons. It's after that we decided to go get her."
"Why?" Yakumo asked again.
"We figure she'd be safer in your capable hands, then a sitting duck in the Holy Land."
"So you're getting involved in this too?"
"We can't. It's all we can do to protect the Ningen No Zho. Benares has the Wong residence practically under siege. The only reason I managed to escape is because they don't consider me a threat. We're involved, but there's not much we can do to help. It's up to the two of you." Ling Ling sighed. "If I'd been younger, I'd probably just enlist you to blindly charge in for a daring rescue. But it's time we'd gotten rid of Benares once and for all."
"So what now?"
"I'm taking you to pick up supplies, and then it's straight to the airport. You'll fly to Tokyo, Meishin can pick you up there, and fill you in. She'll drive you to Domino. I believe whatever or whoever Benares was spying on is a key personality I'd rather have on our side." Ling Ling told her colleague. "Oh, and Yakumo? Good luck."
